A surgical procedure wherein an opening is formed in the skin, fascia and jejunal wall, and a tube is installed in the opening to allow nutrition to be provided directly into the intestine is known as a jejunostomy. A tube which is inserted through this opening during the surgical procedure to maintain the opening is known as a jejunostomy tube. Examples of individuals who would require such a procedure include patients who are poor candidates for nasoenteric or gastrostomy tube feedings, patients whose daily caloric needs are very high; critically ill, weak or comatose patients who may be unable to chew food, and patients suffering from a diseased or traumatized esophagus, who may be unable to swallow food.
A relatively new method of placing a jejunostomy tube, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,086 relates to a laparoscopic procedure. Laparoscopic surgery generally requires the use of instruments or equipment which provides a passage through the skin and surrounding tissue to the surgical site. The laparoscopic jejunostomy procedure requires the use of many instruments and supplies including for example, a nasogastric tube, scalpel, needles, syringes, T-Fastener assemblies, a J-Guidewire, a dilator, a peel-away sheath, a jejunostomy tube and water-soluble lubricant.
In view of this, it is required that assistants to the surgical procedure prepare for the operation by making ready these numerous instruments and supplies to aid in the performance of the surgical procedure. To this end, the individual packaging of each of these items leads to the accumulation of packaging material within the sterile environment of the operating room. It is also conceivable that certain necessary pieces of operating equipment and instrumentation will be inadvertently omitted from the operating room, thus delaying the turgical procedure or inconveniencing the surgeon and jeopardizing the safety of the patient.
The novel laparoscopic jejunostomy instrumentation kit of the present invention obviates the disadvantages encountered in the prior art and provides an instrumentation kit which may include all the necessary pieces of equipment required for performing this surgical procedure. The amount of packaging material which must be discarded is significantly reduced, and the possibility of omission of a required piece of equipment is essentially eliminated.